Wimbledon historian inspires new biennial competition

Residents are being called upon to invoke the spirit of one of Wimbledon’s most notable historians as part of a new competition.

The Richard Milward Prize for local history is a new biennial competition which will be launched by the Wimbledon Society during this year’s Bookfest.

An Oxford undergraduate, Millward spend his whole life in Wimbledon and taught history at Wimbledon College and has often been affectionately referred to as Wimbledon’s Mr Chips.

He also spent six years as president of the Wimbledon Society.

Monica Ellison, from the Society, said: "It is unlikely that we will immediately discover an historian of Richard's brilliance but at least we can give everyone the opportunity to Make History themselves.

"As the saying goes, no one says you must succeed the only shame is not having the courage to try."

To enter residents will need to submit an article or essay focusing on Wimbledon based on original research not previously published.

Budding historians have 18 months to complete their research, which should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length, with a deadline of August 28, 2014.

Workshops will be held later in the process to help entrants with their research with winners due to be announced as part of Bookfest 2014.

For more information, entry forms and prizes visit wimbledonsociety.org.uk or the Museum of Wimbledon, 22 Ridgway, Wimbledon SW19 4QN.